Usually being mentioned in the same sentence as Tom Brady is the ultimate compliment for a quarterback.

Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe bestowed that honor on Eli Manning, but said the Patriots defense that has handicapped Brady in the playoffs recently is just as bad as the Giants’ this season.

“We’ve seen Tom Brady, who’s been elite for a very long time not be able to overcome that,” Sharpe, who works as a pregame analyst for CBS, said. “We’ve seen him lately have success in the regular season, but not in the playoffs.”

New England won three Super Bowls in four seasons between 2002-05, and have made the playoffs every year since, except 2009 when Brady missed most of the season with a torn ACL and MCL.

But their failures have come in the playoffs. The Patriots have lost three straight playoff games starting with the loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII and continuing with last year’s AFC Divisional playoff defeat to the Jets.

But the Giants defense this year pales in compartison to the Super Bowl unit and this team has work to do just to make the playoffs. They took control of the NFC East with a win over the Cowboys on Sunday night, but likely will have to beat Dallas again in the season finale to make their first postseason trip in three years.

But don’t expect much if they do get there, says Sharpe.

“Eli would have to play the way he’s played the past five weeks and play that way every single game in the playoffs for them to have a chance to win,” Sharpe said. “You can’t play the way the defense is, and expect to win in the playoffs. … I just do not believe the way they are playing defense, even as great as Eli’s played, they can win a playoff game. You can’t have a wasted possession. The defense has shown they can’t really stop anybody.”

Sharpe said Manning’s best season stems from the confidence he showed during a preseason interview when he put himself among the league’s elite quarterbacks.

“He made a statement — and ultimately it comes down to one’s belief in himself — he said I believe that I am an elite quarterback,” Sharpe said of Manning, who has thrown for 4,105 yards and 25 touchdowns this season.

“He believed he was up there with (Aaron) Rodgers, (Drew) Brees, big brother Peyton and Tom Brady. He was scoffed at, but he’s proven he’s an elite quarterback. I am not talking about the Super Bowl win, because a lot of quarterbacks have won Super Bowls, but his play since then. You only have six or seven elite quarterbacks in the NFL, and he’s one of them.”